chapter 16

                                    

                                          
Friday, 26 November 1976
                          
Ever since Lena told Maggie and Ava about her dyslexia, she felt more relaxed. Just as Remus assured her, her friends did not care. They were incredibly understanding and understood why she needed to spend more time studying than they did. Maggie and Ava began to take turns doing their readings out loud for Lena to listen to whenever they could. 
                          
Remus had been amazing. He read to her like her brother and friends did and, not that she would tell him ever, she preferred his voice to the others. She loved how soothing it was and how he spoke so eloquently and never stumbled over the words. Remus did not just read to her, though. He reviewed her notes and compared it with his old ones to make sure she wasn't missing anything. He took the time to talk things through with her. He made sure that she could explain the information he read and that she understood it. Lena loved how he made things she found so difficult bearable. 
                          
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Tuesday, 30 November 1976
                          
"I am not  looking forward to Friday," Lena groaned.
                          
"How come?" Regulus asked.
                          
"I just had Binns and now we have a quiz on Friday," Lena said with a frown.
                          
"He never lets up."
                          
"Probably because he's got nothing going on... ya know, him being dead and all."
                          
Regulus gave a quiet, small snort in response.
                          
"I need to pass this quiz, Reg."
                          
"I'm sure you will," Regulus assured her.
                          
"I think I may actually. Remus has been studying with me every other day, mostly for Binns. We're meeting up later to study."
                          
Regulus raised his eyebrows. He was nearly impossible to differentiate from Sirius when he was acting cheeky and teasing people. "Study or study?" he asked.
                          
Lena rolled her eyes. "The academic kind."
                          
"You should ask him out," Regulus encouraged.
                          
"I am not doing that," Lena whispered back as she stirred her potion.
                          
"Lena, you've been super close to him recently and you've spent the last twenty minutes talking about him," Regulus said, before imitating her. "'Remus is so smart and handsome! And he is so tall and kind. He knows just what to say. I just want to marry him and have his babies.'"
                          
"One, I do not sound like that. Two, I didn't say half of those things. Three, I can't ask him out," Lena said to her friend that she wanted to punch in the shoulder.
                          
"Why not? He likes you."
                          
"Yeah, as a friend."
                          
"That he wants to kiss," Regulus smirked.
                          
"Oh my God! What is wrong with you?"
                          
"Generations of inbreeding," Regulus replied nonchalantly.
                          
Lena and Regulus frowned and stared directly ahead of them.
                          
"I made it weird, didn't I?"
                          
"Just a little bit."
                          
"Wanna pretend I didn't say anything?"
                          
"Yes, please."
                          
<><><><><>
                          
"I am so mad right now!" Ava, decked in her Quidditch gear, pouted as she approached Lena, Raj, Maggie, and Alex, who were all sitting in the Hufflepuff common room. Raj sat in an armchair with his legs folded underneath him. Lena rested against the base of the armchair with her legs crossed tightly. Opposite the armchair was another armchair that Maggie occupied. Like Lena, Alex sat against the base of the other armchair. Lena found it strange though. Normally, Maggie and Alex were cuddled close together and were holding each other whenever they could. Lena expected that Alex would sit on the armchair and Maggie would have sat in his lap and Alex would have wrapped his arms around her waist. They must have finally gotten past the honeymoon stage, Lena thought. In general, they had been spending less time together and were less touchy-feely as well. Maggie talked less about Alex than she once did to Lena and Ava.
                          
"And why is that?" Lena asked with a light laugh as the trio walked down the corridor.
                          
"Aaron Parker got Dragon Pox so now I have to play Beater instead of Chaser against Ravenclaw on Saturday!"  
                          
"Oh, is Parker okay?" Lena asked.
                          
Oh, who cares!?" Ava said.
                          
"His parents probably," Maggie shrugged.
                          
"And his girlfriend. They were snogging so she's probably got it now too," Lena added.
                          
"Argh! That's not the point," Ava continued. "Now Marcus Lynch is gonna be Chaser and he's terrible."
                          
"I am sure he's not that bad," Maggie offered.
                          
"Fine, he's okay! But he's not nearly as good as me and it's gonna be all the  harder to win now."
                          
"As a Ravenclaw player, I don't feel bad. But, as your friend, I do feel bad," Alex said.
                          
Ava just stared at him, annoyance painted across her face.
                          
"Calm down, Aves. It's all gonna be fine and you'll be brilliant as a Beater." Raj assured her.
                          
"I know I'll be! I'm bloody fantastic!" Ava said.
                          
Everyone laughed at Ava's comment. Ava sat down next to Lena and rested her head in the crook of her neck. Lena wrapped her arm around her and gave her a quick hug.
                          
"I really wouldn't worry about it, Ava. Ravenclaw's Keeper is absolute rubbish," Lena commented.
                          
"Hey!" Alex cried indignantly. "I am a great Keeper."
                          
"Of course you are babe," Maggie grinned and leaned down to kiss Alex on the top of his head. Alex grabbed her hand and squeezed it three times. 
                          
Maybe I'm wrong, Lena thought.
                          
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Friday, 3 December 1976
                          
I can do this, Lena thought as she walked into Binns' classroom to take her quiz. Lena and Maggie sat down next to each other and Raj and Ava sat in front of them. Lena had not realized how hard she was holding her breath until Maggie told her to breathe. While she was still nervous, she felt more confident than she ever had before a Binn's quiz. Remus, Peter, Maggie, and Ava had made sure to read aloud all the chapters she needed to read for the quiz. Lena did not have to spend extra hours struggling over reading the words. Instead, she was able to spend that time going over the material she did not fully understand after it was read to her. And Remus had gone over tricks with her to remember some of the material she was studying with and helped her simply the overly complicated reasons given in the readings. He wished her luck earlier that day during lunch. He had given her a smile as he walked away with her brother and his friends. It was the sort of smile that made Lena think everything would be alright, even though she didn't know it would be.